Need help finding somewhere to live within commuting distance of Kings Cross.

[FruitSaladIsNotPudding]

Hi,

We are looking (very unwillingly) at leaving London in order to buy a house but we're totally stumped about where to start looking and I was hoping mumsnetters might have some suggestions.

Here's what we need:

Must be communtable to Kings Cross or Euston, preferably in 45 mins or so on train.

We need to be able to live near the station at the other end - no more than a mile.

We would rather live in a town than a village.

Needs to be cheapish - we would have £230,000 max to buy 3, preferably 4 bedrooms.

Any ideas?

Never even heard of Huntingdon! Will check it out, thanks

No real difference between Linslade and LB really as the whole thing put together is a fairly smallish town. Although it's getting bigger as there quite a few newbuild estates going up.

Fast train is about 30-35 mins to Euston.

The town centre has an Ask, one or two independent Italian restaurants, quite a few curry places and assorted pubs and coffee shops/cafes. Outlying villages have nice foody pubs. Posher restairants in places like woburn, not far away. Market Tues and Sat. Farmers market once a month.

It has Tesco, Morrisons, Waitrose. Some chi-chi gifty shops, Wilkinsons, Smiths, the usual small shops. For the big shops you go to Milton Keynes about 15 mins away.

As Katisha says Linslade is part of Leighton Buzzard and close to the station. The High Street has a small Smiths, Pound shop and shoe shops, as well as lots of charity shops. Most residents use Milton Keynes for clothes shopping. Leighton Buzzard has Waitrose, Tesco and Morrisons. Education wise they have a 3 tier system; lower school is up to year 4, middle schools from year 5 to year 8, and then upper school from year 9. I'm not sure about restaurants, but there are a couple of nice pubs by the canal.

OP - to answer your other Qs about Watford:

Plenty of 3 bed houses under £250k within walking distance of the station (remember you need Watford Junction, not Watford High St, or Watford North, or Watford Metropolitan line, which are all in different places!). Many many Victorian terraces, and some 1930s. Looking at what's on Right Move at the mo they are clustered around north Watford (5-15 min walk to the station) and west Watford (ie south of Cassiobury Park and north of the hospital), also 5-10mins to the station.

Going out in the evening - there are indeed quite a few places to eat - the usual Indians etc, tapas places, Italians etc. Just not as inspiring as St Albans. Although it's perfectly feasible to go out in an evening to St Albans if you want a wider choice and possibly slightly more upmarket - in the evening after rush hour it would only be 10-15 min drive. In fact I regularly meet up for girls' nights out with my antenatal class friends in St Albans.

Good luck working your way through all the options on this thread!

I was about to suggest Huntingdon but someone beat me to it.
We lived in Godmanchester for two years so Huntingdon was our closest town. It has a lovely feel to it, or at least it did 20 years ago.
Good schools and access to the fens , very peaceful and it does or at least did, have a Waitrose.

What about baby groups and activities in these places - it is like nappy valley where I live at the moment so we are always out doing things and have lots of mum friends. I'm a bit scared I could end up isolated in a smaller place?

I can walk everywhere here too, I never use the car, and I love that. Is it unrealistic to hope I can find a similar lifestyle elsewhere?

Sounds interesting Mrs Pickles. Can you tell me a bit more about Hitchin? I don't expect it to be like living in London but I would like to live somewhere where we can eat out/do interesting things without having to drive for miles. And somewhere with lots of young families so I can make friends!

Wow, that sounds up my street, I have a sling!

This thread had been so useful. I've gone from having absolutely no idea to having lots of choices. Will have to get in the car and actually check some of these places out.

Can't really help with the baby activities round Leighton Buzzard as I am well out of that scene now and actually was never in it for one reason and another!

You could ask the local NCT rep maybe? There is one if you google.

Obv LB is very close to Whipsnade and Woburn Safari Park - can get season tickets if that's your thing. Also Mead Open Farm is v popular attraction for toddlers and up. Lot of stuff in Milton Keynes for older children.

Hitchin is nice - for people who would like to live in St Albans (yummy mummy central and Bugaboos everywhere) or Harpenden but can't afford them . Friends of ours live there with their 2 yr old and new baby and there is a baby/ toddler "scene". As a town it's much nicer than Watford - has a market town feel.

SIL and BIL used to live in Letchworth with their two (at the time) small children - SIL was involved in the local NCT (membership secretary I think) and again there seemed to be plenty for children. Also seemed like a nice enough town when we went to see them - one of the first "garden cities" so it's well planned. Although town centre not hugely inspiring. Again, possibly nicer than Watford (but not as nice as Hitchin!).

(You might wonder why we live in Watford - the 20mins-to-London commute basically!)

Plenty of baby / toddler etc groups in Watford - baby music, baby football, baby dancing, NCT activities, rhyme time at the local library, our local childrens centres are also fantastic and we use their groups / activities a lot for DD. To walk through the town centre you might not think there was a huge yummy mummy contingent (unlike St Albans where you can't move for tripping over Bugaboos), but if you go to antenatal yoga (just started for Bump 2), or a music group, they come out of the woodwork! I even just went to a homebirth support group in Watford as that's something we are considering for the bump.

Ooh yes, do do a tour of the various towns in this list.

Also look into Rickmansworth - small market town, good communte into London. Afraid I'm not sure about property prices but a friend lived there for a year and it seems nice!

Hitchin is nice I think, and fits nicely with your criteria. Trains normally stop at Stevenage, Finsbury Park and Kings Cross so it's a quick commute.

Agree that Hertford is probably too expensive and having lived there for a number of years (not now though) agree that the commute is very slow as train stops everywhere, plus when there is a problem on the fast line (Hertford is on a loop off it) then they will monopolise the Hertford loop for the fast trains and you'd be stuffed. And it has happened a couple of times and each time for weeks at a time. Lovely as Hertford is I don't rate the transport links that highly.

I was thinking Huntingdon as well, for those prices.

MrsPickles ! And tell me you went on to have a lovely homebirth, practically painfree, nice and quick, easy recovery?

Or rather Godmanchester so you can be my neighbour and it's much nicer

DH cycles to Huntingdon station daily and the train is 45mins-1hr.